by T. F. Walsh
The dracwulf’s head shot up, his eyes locked on me. Did he see me as a snack? These animals were stronger than regular wolves, and ten times more territorial.
Selena held her chin high. Her smile radiated with glossy lips that glistened against the candelabra’s flames. Maybe I’d misread her invitation as something more than discussing the assassination attempt.
“You look spectacular.” I swallowed hard. “Should have told me we were going full out. I might have worn my good jeans.”
She broke into laughter, the sound soft and soothing, except it wasn’t real in the slightest—from the twitch at the corner of her mouth to the tightness with which she gripped the leash. Even the tone of her laughter was gone.
“I’d pull your seat out, but ...” My gaze fell to the custard-colored square cushion a few paces across from mine, curious if this was how Turkish females normally dressed when seated on the floor.
“Klaus, sit.”
The dracwulf lay down on his belly alongside Selena’s pillow with his front paws stretched out toward my side. I couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his size. Klaus’s head was easily larger than mine, and yet he sat there, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth like an obedient dog. I inhaled a tidal wave of wet fur and dirt scent. Wulfkin had hunted dracwulves to extinction in ancient times for a reason. They killed anything in their paths. Yet the Turkish kept them as pets—a spiritual connection with their ancestors. I had no problem with the spiritual part, just the dracwulf one.
“He won’t bite.” Selena’s voice carried a hint of amusement. She stepped in front of her cushion and sat, her bent knees dropping to one side, revealing blue-heeled boots.
The only bite I’d ever accept was from Selena. And that single thought had my wolf wide awake, ready to party.
“I’m surprised you’ve got Klaus under such control.” The animal was so close to me that one wrong move and he’d take my head off.
After a quick sip from her goblet, she licked the red from her upper lip in a way that made me suddenly relax in all the right ways. “He’s been trained from a young pup,” she said. “Thanks for having dinner with me. Figured we didn’t really get a chance to catch up. Well, we tried, but ...” She paused. “It didn’t go according to plan.”
My idea of a relaxed night involved a simple plate of raw steak, lots of blood wine, and chatting with my pack in the main hall, but maybe in Turkey it meant dressing up, being watched by a dracwulf, and having your legs cramp up as if they were an elastic band. But for the chance of sharing alone time with Selena, I’d run naked through the castle.
I drew my foot in closer, but it only sent a twinge up my thigh. Terrible idea.
“If you’re not comfortable, we can go elsewhere.” She shrugged. “Thought we could lounge a bit.”
“You get all dolled up when lounging at home?” Back in Turkey, she’d spent her days in jeans and T-shirts.
She stared at her dress and ran a hand down the gorgeous curve from her bust to her tummy. “Kind of wanted to impress you.”
The escalating pounding in my chest demanded I reach over and kiss her at once. Selena had openly admitted to trying to make an impact on me. And while I was excited about the possibilities this brought, a niggling sensation still churned in the pit of my gut. “Even if you wore sweatpants, I’d be impressed.”
She smiled, and her lips could have melted the snowcaps off a mountain range. Selena was no stranger to getting her way with those looks, and I guessed she’d used them plenty of times.
The door jerked open, and my muscles tensed.
Klaus jumped to his feet, towering over us, his bad breath flooding across me.
Selena patted his back. “It’s okay, boy. Sit down.”
A kitchen girl froze in the doorway, her gaze locked on us.
Just the food. I waved her forward. Goddess, I had to calm down.
The servant, who I didn’t recognize and assumed belonged to the Turkish clan, skirted around to the other side of us, away from Klaus, and set a large plate on the floor between us. She then hurried from the room. Strips of raw meat coated in an earthy marinade filled half the plate; the second half was covered in strips of flatbread.
Selena leaned forward, grabbed a slice of bread, and used it to scoop up meat. She popped it into her mouth. I followed suit, inhaling the spicy fragrance that tingled across my tongue. I swallowed the food and was going in for another.
“Do you like it?” Selena asked.
I swallowed the food. “I might just marry this sauce.”
She wiped her lips with a napkin and smirked. Black makeup swept across her eyelid, curving upward at the corners and giving her sexy cat eyes. When we first met in Turkey, she’d never worn makeup and her beauty still radiated, though the theatrics of her new look definitely held my attention.
“So, do you know what we’re hunting tomorrow?” Her question was quick and precise as if she’d practiced it many times.
“We? Didn’t your father prohibit your entry?” I took another bite of food.
She cut me a hard stare as if ready to challenge me. “I’m in. Father was worried at first, that’s all. But he’s fine with it now.”
“Even with a potential assassin out there? Maybe it’s best you sat this one out.”
Her fierce glare told me to back off. “Wouldn’t the same apply to you then? What makes you think you’ll be safe? Maybe you should focus on who your enemies are?” Her spectacular green irises sparkled under the glow of the candles, though the emphasis she put on the word safe left me wondering what exactly she meant.
“I’ve spent the day speaking to every entrant, and I didn’t detect a single lie. I doubt the attackers are in the race. Though, I haven’t questioned anyone from the Turkish clan.”
Her lips thinned, and when she responded, her voice was dark. “I’m here, grill me if you really think I’m the enemy.”
“Doesn’t everyone have enemies of sorts?” Something wasn’t sounding true here.
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m more than capable of looking after myself. Nothing you say will change my mind. But I’m curious. What sort of enemies would the son of the great emperor have?”
I studied her, the stiffness of her posture. Despite her innocent tone calling me like a goddamn moth to bright light, she was beyond stubborn. And she was fishing for information. Subtlety wasn’t her forte.
“Someone different takes reason to dislike me on a daily basis for my father’s actions. But since we’re being so honest with each other, let’s talk about what happened in the weapons room last night.”
“Sure.” Shifting on her cushion, she bounced around slightly, causing my eyes to focus on her breasts. As much as I tried not to, they locked onto her cleavage.
“When I searched the room, I didn’t find the weapon thrown at us. Isn’t that strange? Especially since you were alone in there after the attack.”
“Yeah, so? We didn’t find a weapon.” She patted Klaus, her fingers zigzagging down his back, evoking a guttural whimper from the animal.
“You’re going to make me come out and say it, aren’t you?”
Her hand stopped halfway down Klaus’s back, and her cheeks morphed into a darker rosy hue. “Are you accusing me of something?” Her voice had steel behind it.
“Help me understand what happened after I went to look for the attacker.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “I searched the room and found nothing.”
Picking out deceptions was my specialty, and Selena’s shaky voice and averted gaze screamed liar. “I don’t plan on getting you or anyone in trouble. Whatever you tell me stays between us. Please, Selena. Do you know anything?”
Her face softened, and her posture slackened. She gave a nod so tiny she probably didn’t even notice doing it. Dead giveaway she hid something. “I ... I don’t know anything.”
I reached across the platter of food and took her soft hand in mine. “I found the puncture in the fireplace mantel. It had
to be made by a small blade.”
She spread her fingers out in a fan against her breastbone with her free hand. “And? That was probably there from long ago.” Her lips pinched to the side.
“Selena, there’s been a lot of crap between our families over the years, but I would never harm you. I’d rather throw myself over a cliff before letting you get hurt. You can trust me.”
She licked her lips, and her vivid eyes blinked. “But do you trust me?”
“Absolutely.” No hesitation. I may not completely trust the sultan or his intentions, but I did when it came to her. Foolish as it sounded, I would wholeheartedly put my life in her hands.
“Then believe me when I say I did not find anything in the room.” Her words were fluid without a hint of a tremor.
Were my feelings for her clouding my judgment?
I squeezed her hand in mine before she pulled it away and continued eating.
Obviously, my direct approach wasn’t working, and I had no idea why I’d suspected it would. This was Selena I was dealing with, stubbornness extraordinaire. If she had a secret, she’d face a lashing before spilling. She had once refused to tell the sultan where Aisha was because she’d promised her sister to keep the secret. Never mind that the full moon was out that night, or that Aisha had last been seen heading into the city. With only a few hours to sundown, I’d snuck away from the families and tracked her down at a friend’s place. A human’s home where other young girls and boys were spending the night. In her excitement to be invited to a party, she had insisted the full moon was the following night. We’d made a hasty escape before she turned her newfound friends into snacks.
Yep, Selena hadn’t changed one bit.
We finished the rest of the meal in complete silence. I wiped my mouth and stood. “Come, there’s something I want you to see.” I offered her an outstretched hand, and she stared at it for a few long moments before accepting my offer.
“What is it?”
“You’ll see.” Retrieving my long coat from the stand in the far corner, I wrapped it around her shoulders and opened the door.
She grabbed the dracwulf’s leash and brought Klaus along. Of course, she would.
Guards from both packs followed us, but remained a fair distance away. In all honesty, since she was packing a dracwulf, it wasn’t Selena who required extra protection, but me. I’d take my chances, not believing for one second Selena would ever harm a soul. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t hold out on relevant information if she’d made a promise to someone.
At the end of the hallway, I guided her down a dark passage and away from the main courtyard, toward the rear of the building. Klaus’s nails click-clacked against the stone floor as he trotted between us. Quite the chaperone.
“You know that lookout place you once showed me in Turkey?”
She glanced at me, her eyes wide. “You still remember?”
“Yep, why wouldn’t I?”
She shrugged. “Just thought ...” Her words drifted on the breeze whistling through the corridors. “Now you’ve got me curious.” Her mischievous smirk tightened my insides.
Klaus pulled on his leash. Selena rushed after him, her long hair waving against her back, the blue fabric from her dress set in a motion of waves around her legs. Candlelight colored her silhouette across the walls. She broke into a laugh as she ran.
I chased after her and passed them, curving up three flights of worn steps that were rarely used these days. For those few seconds of us running, our breaths labored, and it was as if we were back in Turkey without a care in the world. As far as we had been concerned, we’d be together forever. Our future was set. That was a lifetime away, but I’d take a few seconds of pretending.
I swung left and entered another hallway, darker than the last, but the whispering wind guided me to the back door. I shoved it open, and Selena was right there alongside me. Klaus pushed between us, leaping outside into the freezing cold night on the upper balcony surrounding the far west wing of the castle.
The dracwulf dragged Selena by the leash, dashing toward the passage that branched out from the veranda in a long passage built on stilts. I kicked the door shut behind me, hoping the guards got the message, and strolled after her.
Wooden beams creaked beneath my footsteps. The outside corridor was overdue for maintenance, but considering no one but me visited the place, it wasn’t a priority. Ferocious winds battered us.
“This post was once used by guards who spend nights here, watching for approaching enemies from the forest. Kind of suits the name of the land: Őrség, meaning defense area.”
Up ahead, Selena stopped at the end of the lookout point, a small circular area, and turned toward me. “I love it up here. So free.” The wind swept through her hair, blowing strands across her face, which she pushed away.
If I were to ever grill Selena for information, now was the time to do it.
Her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled, and my pulse skipped into a race. How could I have let someone like Selena slip through my fingers?
I stepped alongside her and inhaled her crisp scent of clementine spiked with a hint of honeysuckle. Was it wrong of me to imagine her naked and me kissing every inch of her?
Behind her, the great expanse of the forest was draped in night’s cloak. I resisted the urge to take Selena into my arms and taste those lips. “If you look straight ahead, you can just make out tiny lights. That’s the closest city in Slovenia, on the border of Hungary.”
She inched forward, and my hands tingled to lift her against me. “Yes, I see them. Wow.” Then she glanced upward at the clear sky, stars sparkling the heavens overhead like they had back in Turkey.
A howl broke from somewhere in the forest, filled with forlorn pining, stirring Klaus into his own tune. His paws were soon up on the railing, and he too was peering out.
The beautiful smile gracing Selena’s lips had my insides flipping. I stared at my girl from years ago, the wulfkin who risked her life to run away with me, who had the confidence in me to keep her safe. Despite every piece of crap that had gone down between our clans, the short stint in Turkey had held some of my fondest memories. It all centered around her. Even following the fucked up turn of events after our attempted escape, maybe the life we’d wanted was still possible. And maybe Selena could be mine again. Hope swirled in my chest.
And for that small space of undivided time, where reality was a world away and a sparkle glimmered in her eyes, I let myself pretend it was the case.
CHAPTER TEN
Selena
White blanketed the terrain farther behind the castle, free of tracks, and sloped downward to empty, flat land. The morning breeze washed through my hair, awakening my senses, my wolf, my anxiety for the venery about to commence. In the far distance, pines stood side by side, partially concealed by low-hanging fog. The trees fanned out like an army ready for battle.
Near the castle, spectators huddled closer, chatting, while in front of them was a small pocket of wulfkin stretching and mock-punching each other in a kind of macho show. These pack members stood no chance at fighting an army the size of the forest.
When I was a child, my grandmother often recited a grand tale about an enormous army attacking a Turkish village at a time before wulfkin. A gruesome battle ensued, and everyone was murdered, except for a young boy. Alone, he was found by a female wolf who took him under her care until he grew into a man. The legend said the man and she-wolf mated, and she gave birth to ten sons. Eight became the first race of wulfkin and spread across the world as great leaders, while the last two were neither wulfkin nor wolf, but a blend of both. Dracwulf.
Aisha brushed past me and grabbed my elbow, dragging me toward the group of wulfkin. “You’re not going to win if you start all the way back here.”
I stumbled after her. “Hey, I was warming up.”
“How? By staring into the distance?”
Fine, she had a point. Not that I had an issue with being the only fem
ale or Turkish entrant, but each time they glanced my way, they sneered. Don’t get me wrong, their glares only pumped my adrenaline into a challenge to beat their asses, but I had zero intention of feigning camaraderie.
“Okay, you can let me go now.” I pulled free from Aisha’s death grip. Damn, she had iron fingers like Father’s. At the moment, my mind was drifting with ideas of how to keep Marcin safe, to stay alive, and to protect my family. Last night, I had contemplated telling Marcin about the daggers, but what if it backfired and he told Levin? My family would be in so much shit. No, I’d stick to Father’s suggestion to keep it to ourselves for now.
Zeki, the Turkish captain of the guards, approached, standing so close to Aisha that for a split second, I swore they were holding hands, but it couldn’t be. He wasn’t wellborn enough to be able to mate into a Varlac family.
“Use those back kicks I taught you,” Zeki said. “Don’t be afraid to cause damage to slow down your opponent. Do what it takes.” He smirked, revealing dimples in his chin. With his deep midnight eyes, any wulfkin could easily fall in and get lost, but I often wondered why he didn’t have a girlfriend.
Aisha leaned close, lowering her voice. “Use your animal ability, and show them that girl power rocks.”
“If we’re hunting an animal,” I said.
Aisha’s eyebrows cocked. “True. But hey, while you’re doing all that heroic stuff, why not win as well?” She slipped back to the line of spectators, which included Father and several of his guards and servants. Zeki joined them.
Father approached and touched my arm, squeezing lightly. He didn’t need to speak because the worry behind his eyes said it all. Stay safe. The corners of his mouth twitched, probably with a last-ditch attempt to pull me out, but he and I both knew that protecting Marcin meant keeping our heads intact.
Of course, I intended to give it my all. Just the notion of outmatching the sneering Hungarians made me cocky enough to kick their butts. Why the hell not?
The crowd hushed, and I glanced farther behind us. Levin, his guards, and Marcin strolled toward us in a silent march, reminding me of gangsters. It probably wasn’t far from the truth.